


Bright Lights

by Luka



Series: University AU [4]
Category: Primeval
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, F/F, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 01:37:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19163161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luka/pseuds/Luka
Summary: Claudia and Jenny do some match-making, as well as plotting how to deal with Helen Cutter.





	Bright Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Long ago and far away, Rain_sleet_snow created a university AU in Primeval fanfic where Lester is deputy vice-chancellor, Ryan the head of security, Lorraine an economics lecturer and Sarah an Egyptology PhD candidate. I jumped into her sandpit, and a load of stories followed. Our stories are in the same universe, but we've kind of developed our own plot (in that there is much plot) lines! This fic is the fourth I created in the AU universe - there are more stories to follow. If you want to read Rain_sleet_snow's stories, she has them on her AO3 account under the Smart People series tag. To avoid confusion, I'm going to name my series as University AU. Original, or what! The stories are gen ones in a slash universe.

Jenny watched the spotty lad laboriously writing notes on a ragged bit of paper, and sighed inwardly. Didn't newspapers teach their cub reporters shorthand any more? Or equip them with decent notebooks, for that matter?

"Have you got everything you need, Mr Millichip?"

He scratched his greasy hair and sniffed. "I fink so, Miss Lewis."

"Good. Do phone me if you want to check the quotes." She knew he wouldn't, though, and that what appeared in the next day's paper would bear little resemblance to what either she, or Dr Emily Merchant, their new lecturer in Victorian history, had told him about recent research on Jack the Ripper.

Jenny and Emily watched him tuck the scrap of paper into the back pocket of his baggy slacks, then meander off towards the bus stop back into town. The lad didn't look old enough to be allowed out on his own, and certainly not in possession of a driving licence.

Emily ran her fingers through her awesome corkscrew curls and sighed. "Somewhere there's a village without its idiot …"

Jenny guffawed and gestured Emily through into her office. This was a woman she could do business with. Jenny had been in PR all her working life, but this job was proving to be a challenge. Trying to get most academics to boil down their research into something understandable by the average person was a nightmare – they either bumbled and blithered, or they claimed loftily that they didn't deal in soundbites. Emily had been clear and concise, and had handed the dim Georgie Millichip a story on a plate.

"So how are you finding CMU?" asked Jenny, pouring them both a cup of decent coffee and breaking into a packet of Viennese fancies.

Emily sipped her coffee and thought for a moment. "University a second division set-up, students nice but dim, staff mad as hatters …"

"That's the best summing-up I've heard," said Jenny, handing Emily another biscuit and wondering if it would be rude to ask her where she bought her faintly steampunky clothes. "So how did you end up here?"

Emily sighed. "An acrimonious divorce. Ex-hubby's family own half of London, so getting out seemed a good idea, particularly as his vile father is chancellor of the university I was working at."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," said Emily briskly. "I shall be fine here. The teaching load's not unreasonable and they seem very positive about my research."

"Come and meet some sane people," said Jenny impulsively. "Some of us are planning an end of term picnic on Saturday and I think you'll like Lorraine and Sarah. Lorraine lectures in economics and Sarah's an Egyptology PhD candidate. And there's Claudia, my half-sister, who works in the registrar's department." She decided to gloss over the fact she'd also invited mad Professor Cutter and his taciturn other half Stephen Hart. Perhaps she should also invite Hilary Becker and Dave Owen – she knew Claudia had been match-making there for a while. Dave could be relied on to keep the conversation going, even if Hilary did have a tendency to brood.

"That's very kind. I'd like that," said Emily. "May I bring anything?"

"Why don't you bring a selection of fruit," said Jenny. She already had the menu planned out, and three extra bodies wouldn't make too much difference. Although the occasion would be short of straight men. Perhaps she should invite Dr Matt Anderson, the new botany lecturer. He seemed pleasant, albeit not much of a conversationalist. The only topic that seemed to excite him was aphids and potted plants.

After Emily had gone, Jenny picked up the phone and dialled Dave Owen's extension.

"Owen."

"Hello, Dave."

"Jenny. Nice to hear your dulcet tones. What can I do you for?"

"Would you and the lovely Hilary like to come for a picnic on Saturday?"

There was a pause and Jenny wondered if their relationship, which could best be described as tentative, had hit the rocks for good.

"Thanks, Jenny. That would be lovely," he said eventually. "What time?"

"Noon. I've invited the new history lecturer. And I'm in search of single straight men to introduce her to."

He laughed. "Good luck with that search, then. I assume she's not desperate enough for a blind date with Rob Finn?"

"Good god, no!" Rob was a fitness instructor at the university sports centre and an evening in his company was like something out of a Carry On film, thanks to his fruity humour, ability to fall over his own shoelaces and a tendency to offer to light his farts after he'd had a drink or two.

"Niall Richards?"

"No," said Jenny firmly. Niall, who was an engineering researcher with a passion for knives, made her very nervous. "What about Darren?"

"Engaged to be married. Nice little girl called Cara who's a photography MA student."

"Drat," said Jenny, and meant it. Darren Cooper, a colleague of Rob's, was a sweet boy with lovely manners. "It'll have to be Matt Anderson, then."

"Don't think I know him."

"Northern Irish guy lecturing in botany."

"Perhaps he can advise Hilary on how to keep houseplants alive."

"Funny you should say that …"

*~*~*~

Matt thanked her politely in his deadpan accent and said he'd be very pleased to come. By this time Claudia had arrived from a particularly fraught QA meeting and was sharing their lunch out with one hand and scribbling notes for the picnic with the other.

They ate their salad and fruit in companionable silence. Claudia, whose finishing school education had prepared her for anything, then produced her iPad and put an order in to Ocado for delivery on the Friday evening. Jenny was more than happy to devolve responsibility for the catering to her half-sister.

Eventually Claudia put the tablet away and leaned back in her chair. "Jen, we need your advice," she said briskly.

"We?"

Claudia frowned at the interruption. "You know the Helen Cutter saga?"

Jenny nodded. The deputy vice-chancellor James Lester, who was taking a personal interest in the issue, had mentioned the matter to her during their weekly briefing meeting. The wretched woman, who had left CMU under a cloud, had returned as an external examiner and was hell-bent on causing mayhem. It didn't help that she was mad Professor Cutter's ex-wife and had apparently bedded the divine Stephen Hart and a succession of other students.

"We wondering if you could …" Claudia, who usually got straight to the point, trailed off.

"Spin against her?"

"Something like that."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Rather unethical."

"But effective …"

Jenny nodded. "Possibly. Leave it with me. Now, they're arriving at noon on Saturday and I thought we could go in two cars, although it'll be rather a squash. What time do you want us to start cooking?"

*~*~*~

Jenny's events ran like clockwork. She was stationed at the front door to marshal the guests whilst Claudia put the finishing touches to the picnic. Matt arrived ten minutes early bearing a lily in a pot and a large gateau. Emily arrived eight minutes early with a selection of fruit, a box of Belgian chocolates and a very good bottle of wine. Dave and Hilary arrived five minutes early, Dave dispensing hugs and bonhomie to all, whilst Hilary hung back and looked vaguely tragic. Lorraine and Sarah arrived three minutes early, Lorraine striding to the front door with a bunch of flowers in one hand and a bag of desserts in the other, Sarah scurrying to keep up as she attempted to tame her gorgeous dark hair into a ponytail. Nick and Stephen arrived as the clock struck the hour, Cutter all flailing arms and Scottish curses, Stephen looking long-suffering and shepherding his partner to an armchair in the corner where he could do least damage while the vehicles were loaded.

Stephen had had the presence of mind to commandeer the departmental Hilux. He and Hilary, supervised by Claudia, packed the picnic hampers into the back along with tarpaulins and rugs to sit on, a wind-break and several brightly-coloured golfing umbrellas which would repel both rain and sun. Meanwhile, Cutter cross-examined Matt on his credentials, humphing spectacularly at intervals for no discernable reason. 

They set off in convoy at 12.15pm, Stephen driving the Hilux and Dave his battered but much-loved BMW which Hilary claimed spent more time up on blocks being repaired than it did on the road. Jenny had managed to engineer it so that Emily sat in the back of the car with Matt.

Their destination was an expanse of common land overlooking a valley. It was always surprisingly quiet up there and they had plenty of room to spread out and to throw a Frisbee around – although Cutter was banned from that particular activity after nearly decapitating a small child the last time they'd been there. 

Jenny supervised the boys setting out the groundsheets and rugs and erecting the windbreaks while Claudia and Lorraine unloaded the picnic hampers and started discussing how best to serve the food. Sarah had been delegated to run interference on Cutter, who had a tendency to stick his oar in and cause chaos. Hilary seemed determined to prove he could fetch and carry more than Stephen, but stared at Dave's muscular arms when he thought no one was looking.

The food was voted a success, with only crumbs left to feed the birds. Dave opened three bottles of champagne that he'd brought and they toasted each other and the impending holidays. The Frisbee game had to be abandoned early after Sarah unleashed a mighty throw which sent it spinning over the side of the hill, never to be seen again. So an impromptu French cricket challenge was set up until the participants got fed-up of not being able to get Stephen out, and adjourned to the rugs for strawberries and cream.

It was Cutter with his usual lack of tact who pointed his finger at the elephant in the room. "What are you going to do about Helen?" he demanded of Claudia.

There was a chorus of groans and Stephen rolled his eyes, laying his hand on Cutter's arm. "Not today, Nick."

"Jenny and I are meeting Lester on Monday to formulate a plan. Now, can you pass me that cake you brought, Matt? Who'd like a slice of coffee cake?"

*~*~*~

Jenny kicked her shoes off and stretched out on the sofa, accepting a cup of chamomile tea from Claudia with a grateful smile. "That went pretty well, I thought."

Claudia ate a chocolate truffle, licking the end of her fingers, then passed the box over to Jenny. "Very pleasant afternoon. Emily's a nice girl."

"I see she and Matt were exchanging phone numbers."

"Good. And next time, let's ensure Hilary and Stephen are kept well apart – there was a definite overload of testosterone there."

"Not that Stephen probably noticed."

"True. And if Cutter is found bumped off, the list of suspects will stretch to Glasgow."

Jenny sighed. "That man has made an art form of opening his mouth and putting his foot in it."

"Tell me about it! Do you think Lester will go for your plan?"

Jenny smiled enigmatically and reached for another truffle. "Oh, I think so."

*~*~*~

Lester leaned back in his executive leather chair and regarded them both with disfavour. "This wretched woman is causing more chaos than the rugby club and those drunken medical students put together. I hope you've got to the bottom of what happened, Miss Brown."

"I have. Dr Cutter's appointment was agreed at a meeting when I was on leave. That meeting was not quorate. Neither was her CV available to the committee." Claudia handed him a folder.

"I see." Lester could make two innocuous words sound like an insult. He set the folder down without opening it.

"I have asked the quality assurance chair in Earth Sciences to step down. And I have made it clear to the dean that there will be no repeat of this fiasco."

"Which still leaves us with Dr Cutter in situ as an external examiner."

Jenny smiled wolfishly. "I have some plans for how we might deal with that. A Times Higher journalist is very interested in Dr Cutter's past history. And I have also been chatting to a reporter from the New Scientist as well."

"All very well, but won't this backfire on us and make us look like blithering idiots?"

"Both of them owe me favours. And I feel sure that the moment the New Scientist journalist starts sniffing around, Dr Cutter will choose to resign her post of external examiner."

"I sincerely hope you're right, Miss Lewis. Now, if there's nothing else, I have more pressing matters on my hands like persuading the campus manager that it's not my job to deal with those squirrels who insist on eating roof tiles, or trying to discover who is stealing toilet paper from the senior common room lavatories."

They retreated to the new campus coffee shop, which served decent cappuccinos and tasty home-made cakes. A meeting with Lester deserved a large drink and an even larger chunk of chocolate gateau.

"Is this going to work?" asked Claudia, taking a swallow of her coffee and delicately patting her lips with a serviette.

"Yes," said Jenny, hoping her confidence was justified. "Just a minute …" She reached for her mobile and searched for a number. "Trevor darling? Jenny Lewis, CMU. Ah, you've phoned her. She said what …? Well, that doesn't surprise me. Excellent. So the story will run this week? Thank you. Do let me know if I can help in any way. Send my love to Laura."

"Trevor darling?" Claudia raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Chief reporter on Times Higher. You remember Laura, who I was at school with?"

"That mousy specimen who did Classics?"

"The very same. She's now married to Trevor and is deputy head at Cheltenham Ladies College."

"You have the best mafia, Jen!"

"Let's hope they don't leave too many horses' heads in various beds."

*~*~*~

Jenny had just finished giving Georgie Millichip's smug and sexist editor a piece of her mind over his trainee reporter's tendency to embroider quotes when her phone rang. It was Claudia.

"Have you seen Times Higher yet?"

"Claudia, I haven't even had a cup of coffee this morning."

"I think you'll be pleased with this particular horse's head …"

Jenny tore the wrapping off the magazine and flicked through. She didn't have to look far – on page five was a story about Earth Science PhD and MSc students at the University of North Side putting in a complaint to the authorities about sexual harassment by an unnamed female member of staff. The article hinted obliquely that references for the said member of staff might not have been checked as assiduously as they could have been.

Her mobile went. It was mad Professor Cutter, laughing like a drain. Jenny managed to ascertain between his rrrrrrs and gurgles that there was a news story in that week's New Scientist about how a peer-reviewed journal was reconsidering its selection process for papers after an eminent academic had been accused of fabricating her research. Dr Helen Cutter was apparently unable to back up findings about rock forms in the Cretaceous. Helen had declined to comment to the magazine – a PR no-no in Jenny's book, on the grounds it immediately made a person look like they had something to hide.

Jenny phoned Claudia back. "That," she said, "is what you call a double whammy."

"I'll say!" Claudia was almost purring.

"Do we open a book on how long it takes her to resign as external?"

"Oh, there's no need for that. I've just sent her a letter asking her ever so politely to reconsider her position, given how much she currently has on her plate."

"Classy," said Jenny approvingly.

"Let's hope it does the trick."

Jenny's email was beeping frantically and she scanned her inbox. "Mud sticks. Now, Lorraine's suggesting celebratory tapas after work tonight."

"You're on! Whatever happens, you deserve the largest glass of wine available, Jen!"

"Now you're talking!" Jenny allowed herself a small smile. 

She was looking forward to seeing Dr Cutter wriggle out of this one.


End file.
